Film loading apparatus for a camera has been recently proposed, for more easily loading film in the camera, for example in Japanese Patent Publs. Nos. 62-62330 and 62-62331, and Japanese Utility Model Publ. No. 62-26745. As is seen in FIG. 12 of the accompanying drawings, illustrating such a known film loading apparatus, a film supply chamber 10 is provided with a cassette holder 14 which can be swung out to a predetermined extent from the rear side of the camera body for loading a film cassette 12. In FIG. 13, the cassette holder 14 is seen to be provided with a film rewinding shaft 16 which has a fork 16A at its end. A shaft 16C is coaxially connected to the lower end of the film rewinding shaft 16. A shaft 20 is inserted in the shaft 16C in the perpendicular direction. Shaft 16 can rotate relative to shaft 16C about their common axis. A bevel gear 16B is fixedly mounted on the film rewinding shaft 16, and engages with a bevel gear 20A rotatably supported by the shaft 20. The bevel gear 20A also engages with a bevel gear 20B driven by a driving source (not shown). When a film is loaded, the film cassette 12 is inserted in the cassette holder 14 by inclining it as is illustrated in FIG. 12, and the cassette holder 14 is returned to the loading position while being swung about the shaft 20 on shafts 16 and 16C. When the film is rewound, the bevel gear 20A is rotated about the shaft 20 by means of the bevel gear 20B, and transmits rotation to the bevel gear 16B. The bevel gear 16B rotates together with the film rewinding shaft 16 so as to reverse rotate the spool of the film cassette 12 and rewind the film after exposure. In this process, the shaft 16C does not rotate.
However, such a known film loading apparatus has the disadvantage of comprising a complicated structure requiring a large space, since the construction in which the film rewinding shaft 16 is fitted on the cassette holder 14 requires bevel gears interconnecting it with a film driving source of the camera.